Protein Packed Salad ~ with Lobia

Am constantly trying to find ways to add protein to our meals in ways that do not use eggs. Not that I don’t love eggs, but there is something called overkill! Bean loaded salads are a good way to get a good portion of protein. I am fond of beans of all kinds. Indian cuisine makes wonderful curries and salads such as Koshimbir out of them. My standard rule to make a good salad is a layering of texture, flavour and taste. Pick 2 ingredients for each and you have a great salad in minutes.

I like to stock my vegetable tray with a variety of colours and textures. When I buy vegetables, I have a standard method. staples(such as onions, tomatoes), 3-4 green vegetables (beans, bhindi etc) and 2-3 colours (carrots, beets, cauliflower, coloured peppers, pumpkin, etc) that way i dont have a to eat monochromatic food! yeah I know… I have been told its very weird to constantly want coloured food like a child!

Here is the recipe for a good salad that can easily become a whole meal!

Protein Packed Salad (makes one large serving, can be split into two portions)

Ingredients:

Small head of iceberg lettuce, chopped roughly

Ripe Tomato                                       – 1 chopped into large pieces

Cucumber                                            – ½ peeled and cubed

Apple                                                     – ½ cored and cubed

Beetroot                                                – 1, boiled, peeled and cubed

Black Eyed Beans (Lobi                   – ½ cup, soaked overnight and boiled till just cooked (one whistle in the pressure cooker)

For the dressing

Lemon juice                                        – 1 teaspoon

Salt and pepper                                  – to taste

Honey                                                    – 1 teaspoon

Spring onion                                        – 1 shoot, finely chopped

Water                                                      – 1 teaspoon

Method:

Toss all the chopped vegetables together, add the boiled beans. Whisk all the ingredients for the dressing in a small bowl, pour onto the chopped vegetables and toss around to coat well. Serve chilled.

Tortillas from scratch and a Magazine Feature

I know I shouldn’t be abandoning the blog as much as I do… but that’s the pattern I seem to follow…

In august, WOW Hyderabad which is the number one local magazine of Hyderabad, did a cover feature on people from different walks of life rediscovering and enjoying the kitchen. They featured 12 people. There was an actor, a fashion designer, a hotelier etc… and your’s truly. I’ve been called a lot of things, but for the first time I was called Hyderabad’s most popular Blogger. Am not sure if I deserve those words of praise, but am humbled that this little blog got me featured in a magazine.

It was nerve wracking to pose for the picture… but I enjoyed the fun interview with a nice guy who has been reading my blog and so knew my dog by his name! Have just been plain lazy about posting this here. So now is as good a time as ever.

Its also been almost a year now that I write a bi monthly feature with recipes for a local English daily called The Hans India. I need to find the features and scan and post them in a different section of this blog I guess, now that there are so many.

On that note, I leave you with a simple recipe to make Tortillas

Tortilla Wraps

Tortilla Wraps (Makes 6 Tortillas)

All Purpose Flour (Maida)      11/4 Cup

Baking Powder                             ½ teaspoon

Salt                                                   to taste

Butter                                             1 tablespoon

Water (to knead the dough)

For the Filling

Lettuce                                            1 cup

Fresh Vegetable Sticks             1 cup (such as sliced avocado, red/ yellow peppers, tomato slices etc)

Cooked Shredded Chicken or cooked Paneer slices

Baked Beans                                  (optional)

Salt and pepper to taste

Mix the baking powder and salt into the flour well and mix the butter to make it look like breadcrumbs. Add enough water to make a dough like chapatti. Knead it for a few minutes and leave it to rest for 20 – 30 minutes.

Divide the dough into six equal parts and roll out into rounds of about 6-7 inches. Heat a tava and lightly cook the tortilla on two sides till small brown spots appear and it is cooked. This is similar to making rotis but do not press down with the spatula or put directly onto the flame. Make all the tortillas and keep aside.

When the tortillas have cooled. Place the lettuce leaf in the middle of the tortilla, add a few vegetable sticks, few pieces of shredded chicken or Paneer and a few teaspoons of beaked beans, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roll up the tortilla tight and secure with a toothpick.

Repeat till all the tortillas are used up. Serve with a fresh salad, salsa and guacamole.

Beat the Heat Series ~ Summer Salad with Quail Eggs

I got a few boxes of quail eggs at the supermarket a few weeks ago. I had never tasted these eggs before, but they are slowly becoming popular in the cities now and are so damn cute that I’d buy them even if I didn’t want to eat them.

I’ve had them simply fried, with a dash of salt and pepper. It took about 6 of the quail eggs to make up the quantity of one regular chicken egg.

This time I boiled them and used them in a salad, for added protein. The salad is similar to the ones that regularly feature on this blog. Cucumbers, tomatoes and a little cooked pasta. I added some wedges of pan roasted potatoes to bulk it up and add a bit of a crunch. This was an easy weeknight fix for us. Light, healthy and filling. If you don’t have quail eggs, substitute it with chopped regular hard boiled eggs.

Summer salad with quail eggs (makes 3 generous portions)

6 hard boiled, shelled and halved quail eggs (replace with one regular chicken egg)

2 cups of peeld and chopped cucumber

2 cups chopped ripe tomatoes (replace with cherry tomatoes)

2 tablespoons of fresh coriander leaves

1 cup cooked pasta (I used penne)

1 cup potato wedges

1 teaspoon olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

For the dressing

3 tablespoons tomato sauce / ketchup

1 teaspoon green chilli sauce

½ teaspoonTabascosauce

Pinch of sugar

3 tablespoons thick yogurt / curd

2 tablepoons milk

Whisk together all the ingredients for the dressing and set aside.

Reserve the boiled eggs, toss together all the ingredients for the salad. Pour the dressing over it and mix well. Chill for atleast 30 minutes covered before serving. Before serving, plate into individual serving bowl. Garnish with 2-3 halves of the egg. Crackle some pepper on top and serve.

Thai Style Noodle Salad

thai style noodle salad

Have been in a blog funk for a while now and i realised that most of the things that i found pleasure in, I have abandoned….and the newer interests I have picked up do not end/ begin with food and so there is less to write here. With all the other stuff that’s going on, meals are the last priority right now. It helps in weightloss if food is not the focus of your life… I’ve learnt that much over the last 6 months from K.

Losing my food pictures because of a crashed laptop also meant that i was more heartbroken than i wanted to admit. It also stripped me of a bank of pictures that i could post here to keep the blog posts coming.

We went on a holiday recently to the Land of the Thunder Dragon – Bhutan. I had friends from college who were Bhutanese and they kept telling me to visit. It has taken 11 years to finally get there and I am glad we finally went.  K’s work has kept him so busy that we hardly manage to spend time together during the work week. Deadlines drive me crazy and bring out the zen like calm in him. Which is ridiculous because he is the one chasing those damn deadlines! I just watch from the sidelines, am supportive and try to be as gracious about giving up our time together. So this was a welcome break. And what a beautiful break it was.

Bhutan is gorgeous. Period. Its green, the climate was chill but pleasantly so for this time of the year and it is spring time, which means Cherry blossoms are in full bloom all over the country. They take your breath away even if you are just walking down a village road. the people are wonderful, humble and amongst  the most self respecting i have ever come across. The children are picture perfect and you feel like sticking a camera in every face you see. The houses, hotels and every other building is similar to look at from outside due to the building regulations in place to ensure they continue to build  the model of the traditional building structures, which use a lot of wood, intricate carving and paintings. the monasteries are beautiful and either nestled next to an icy glacier fed river or clinging precariously to the side of a sharp cliff. And if you think the V king is handsome…. you should see his father!

Choose to drive in the mountains, visit the monasteries, trek through the country or get lost in the colour and essence of a cultural festival. You can also choose to get a massage and soak in a hot tub, the water is heated by placing red hot stones in another compartment of the tub. It was surreal and just the relaxing holiday we wanted.

The food – is heavenly. fresh, comforting and has a homemade quality, just what is needed in a cold country. I was apprehensive about  the availability of vegetarian food, but was pleasantly surprised. Although on the bhutanese vegetarian menu there are mostly only three variations of their famous cheese curry (with chilli, potatoes or mushrooms) with red rice, its all washed down with the best dark rum and coke i’ve have ever had.  indian, chinese and continental food is easily available at most places. the restaurants in thimpu and paro can serve you almost anything you want, from lebanese to thai cuisine.

We went to this lovely thai restaurant called Baan Thai in Thimpu and the food there is so outstanding that it compelled us to return to have our last meal there before we left Bhutan. Its tricky to order vegetarian Thai food, because almost everything calls for shrimp paste and fish sauce. This restaurant has excellent service and is very quick by Bhutanese standards and each dish from the red and green curry, sauteed spinach with chilly and glass noodle salad was outstanding.

Landing back home into 38 degrees C from 0 degrees when we left bhutan has left me craving for cold meals. I tried to make some version of the noodle salad and it was so refreshing for a hot summer afternoon. Its pretty easy to put together and since i substituted ingredients for whatever i had on hand, i would say this is a very adaptable recipe. the sharpness of the lemon and chilli dressing, refreshing crunch of the chilled vegetables and the starch provided by the rice noodles made for a complete meal.

Thai Style Noodle Salad (Serves 2)

1 cup cooked rice / glass noodles (I used rice noodles, soaked a handful in boiling water covered with a lid for 3-4 minutes, drained and immersed in cold water till needed)

1 cup peeled cucumbers sliced like matchsticks

1/2 cup peeled carrots sliced like matchsticks

1/2 an onion sliced fine

1 medium sized tomato, halved and sliced

2 tablespoons fresh coriander leaves or thai basil (i did’nt have this on hand) rinsed and shredded

2 tablespoons fresh spring onions, green parts only

For the dressing:

2 tablespoons fresh lemon / lime juice

1 tablespoon sugar

1/4 teaspoon red chilli powder

salt to taste (about 1/4 teaspoon)

In a bowl add all the ingredients for the dressing and mix till the sugar is dissolved, taste and adjust. Add the chopped veggies and mix well. Add the cooked noodles and toss. garnish with green onions and fresh coriander leaves. Let stand in the fridge for atleast 15 minutes to allow the flavours to meld. Serve chilled

Can garnish with some toasted sesame seeds or toasted crushed peanuts, i forgot as i was eager to dig into it.

shopping info :

in hyderabad, you can buy the rice noodles and glass noodles at spar, hypercity, qmart or ruci and idoni

 Edited to add: Its been eons since i linked to any blog event. This salad is off to Fun in the Sun, the summer event at Tickling Palates who is celebrating four fab blogging years!

Avocado, Roasted Bell Pepper and Lettuce Salad

Getting salad greens where i live in Hyderabad is like searching for a needle in the haystack. You may get iceberg lettuce if the local subway hasn’t beaten you to the store yet, nothing more. I understand the shops wont stock anything that doesn’t have a good enough demand, but i cant stop craving. Also, thanks to the internet, i refuse to believe that sliced cucumbers and tomatoes comprise of salad. I started growing my own mustard greens which are coming along great and haven’t yet been harvested. On my recent trip to Bangalore, i found as many as three kinds of lettuce in a fancy store. Thankfully the price wasn’t fancy. For 10 rupees, i got a pack of mixed salad greens from which i recognised two as rocket and curly red lettuce i snapped up a few packs of those and was determined to take them back, even at the cost of it not being as crisp after the ordeal of the plane journey that Bangalore to Hyderabad is and then sitting in the fridge. But hey, you cant blame me for acting crazy in the presence of lettuce.

The first day that i got back, i had a client visit and bang opposite is a fancy so called gourmet store. I cant resist a grocery store, much less a gourmet one. I reminded myself that i needed to go in to pick up fruit. I was feeling snobbish when i saw the lettuce, everything else in the vegetable section i already had, so I came out with no fruit, but one avocado, some cherry tomatoes and coloured peppers. How’s that for being focussed.

I’ve eaten avocado before, but never at home. The once someone gave me a fruit, it sat in the fridge till it was only useful as a face scrub with chickpea flour and sugar granules and trust me my skin glowed with it! I was determined to make something fancy with the avocado, then realised the lettuce was sitting there for me to take notice since two days, which meant that a salad was the order of the day with an appearance from the avocado.

To cut an already long story about lettuce short, this salad, which even if i say so myself is the best i have ever made. Its been my lunch/dinner for 3 days straight and i am not complaining. I served it to a friend last evening and he too was oohing and aahing over it! The texture of the buttery avocado against the crunch of the cucumber slices, the tartness of the tomato paired with the sweetness of the smoky roasted bell peppers and all on a bed of not so bad lettuce… heaven. Pardon me for the drama, but i did say i was lettuce deprived. If you want to know what all the fuss is all about, you have to make it yourself.

My Current Favourite Salad (Serves 2)

Two handfuls of assorted lettuce

1 cup cherry tomatoes halved, or 1 cup regular tomatoes diced

1 cup cucumbers, peeled & sliced

2 green onions, white and greens chopped

1/3 avocado, skinned and sliced into bite sized pieces

½ cup slivers of roasted yellow and red bell peppers (i roast the bell peppers on an open flame till the outside skin is charred, remove the charred skin and slice and store in an airtight box for upto 2 days in the fridge to be used in salads, for longer storage, freeze &  use in pastas)

For the dressing:

2 teaspoons eggless low fat mayonnaise

1 teaspoon tomato ketchup / sauce

½ teaspoon Tabasco sauce

½ teaspoon thai red chilli sauce

For the garnish:

Crushed pepper, red chilli powder, salt

Wash all the vegetables and refrigerate till cold. Immerse the lettuce in 2 cups of water + 6-7 ice cubes to ensure it is crunchy. When ready to serve, peel and prepare all the veggies. Line a salad bowl with lettuce, add all the vegetables to it, except the green onion. In a small bowl, whisk all the ingredients for the dressing together, adding a tablespoon of water to thin it out. Pour this over the salad. Add the green onions, add freshly crushed pepper, salt and red chilli powder. Toss lightly and serve immediately.

Fruity Salad with Balsamic Vinegar Dressing

If you are looking for an easy way to incorporate the daily required portions of fresh fruit and vegetables, look no further. Fruit and Vegetables combined can make the most interesting and filling salads. Salads that can be served on the side of a nice meal or as a meal itself. Throwing together an assortment of half a dozen vegetables and luscious fruit made up this spur of the moment salad. A really light yet flavourful dressing of orange juice, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper finished this off nicely. I recently got myself a melon baller and have been going berserk with it! Which is actually how this salad began! I like that its far easier to scoop up soft fruit like melons and papaya with this one, than the other cumbersome process of skinning and chopping into chunks!

Fruity Salad

2 cups watermelon chunks or roundels made with a melon baller

segments from one orange, reserve the residual juice about 1/3 cup

1/2 each red and yellow bell peppers, cubed

1 large tomato, cubed

1 cup tender cucumber, skinned and cubed, seeds removed

2-3 baby corn, cut into 1/2 inch pieces

For the dressing:

1/3 orange juice

1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar

2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh coriander

a pinch of salt

freshly ground pepper to taste

Mix all of the above and keep aside.

In a large bowl, put together all of the vegetables, watermelon and orange segments. Toss lightly and chill till you are ready to serve. Add the dressing and toss again just before serving.

Beat the Heat Series ~ Summer Salad with Balsamic Vinegar Dressing

Fresh cooling foods with minimum time spent in the kitchen, preferably fresh fruit and vegetables are my choice for this scorching summer. I made this salad on the spur of the moment, throwing in all the stuff i had in the vegetable tray and excited about finally getting myself a bottle of balsamic vinegar. It was light and so refreshing, the flavours and textures of the different fruit and vegetables giving the salad so many layers… it was a chilled treat.

Summer Salad with Balsamic Vinegar Dressing (serves 2)

Dressing

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1/2 teaspoon sugar

pinch of salt

1 teaspoon lemon juice

whisk all of the above together till the sugar dissolves and set aside

8 sections of sweet lime, peeled and seeds removed

1/2 cup chopped green apple

1 large red tomato chopped

1 cup cucumber, peeled and chopped

10-12 yellow cherry tomatoes, halved

1/2 cup beetroot, boiled, skinned and chopped

8-10 strawberries, quartered

6-8 basil leaves, torn to small bits

10-12 mint leaves torn to small bits

Take all of the above in a large bowl and toss together. Chill in the refrigerator for atleast 20-30 minutes. Before serving, pour the dressing on top and toss it all up. Serve chilled.

Pan Sauteed Broccoli

Disclaimer: Not the most flattering of pictures, but if I were to post only the stuff that turns out pretty, I’d have precious little on the blog!!

This recipe is courtesy Sig, she suggested this way of preparation on a post or a blog of a fellow blogger, am unable to find the link. this must be one of the easiest dishes to make and adds to a simple or elaborate spread. I’ve made this several times since i discovered this way of making it and it makes a great low cal dinner on its own, or a great side to a pasta meal.

Pan Sauteed Broccoli (serves 2 as a side)

2 cups bite sized broccoli florets, washed and drained

2 pods of garlic, finely sliced

salt and pepper to taste

splash of Extra virgin olive oil

1/2-1 teaspoon of red chilli flakes (as per tolerance to spice)

1 teaspoon lime/ lemon juice

In a pan bring 3 cups of water to a rolling boil, add the broccoli florets and blanch for 1-2 mins. The broccoli should be par boiled, still crisp and retain its bright green colour. Alternatively, add 2-3 tablespoons of water to the florets in a microwave safe bowl and nuke for 2-3 mins on high. drain off the water and proceed as follows.

in a frying pan, heat the olive oil and add the garlic, saute till fragrant and just turning golden. Add the blanched broccoli and toss around. Add the salt, pepper and chilli flakes. Toss well. Turn off the heat. squeeze the lemon juice on top and toss well. serve warm.

Herbed and Spiced Home Made Paneer & 200th post!!

Hallo folks and hope that the coming weekend will be full of whatever you planned it would be full of…I’ve had a lovely, busy, fun and friend filled week. getting onto the recipe , which is actually not much of a recipe but homemade paneer flavoured with chilli flakes and fresh coriander.

A few days after returning from ahmedabad i needed to use up the milk that was lying frozen in my freezer….the milk delivery guy couldn’t remember to suspend our service for a few days, and since the plants i have need to be watered, my maid has the house keys. So she stacked the unused packets up into the freezer…so that was 12 litres of frozen milk by the time i came back!!

What followed was lassi, custard, china grass and more milk based desserts and just as i was getting tired of the sugar overload, i thought, well why not spiced or flavoured paneer…i remember my namesake had made this eons ago and i had bookmarked it, but as always didnt try it out!! here was my chance. i didnt quite remember how she made it, nor did i bother to turn on the laptop and search for it cos by that time, i’d have overboiled or burnt the milk anyways…so i went ahead with what i thought would work!!

i also managed a few step by step… so here it is

boil 1/2 litre of  milk on a medium flame, when it begins to rise up, turn on the lowest heat possible and add 3 tablespoons of finely chopped fresh coriander leaves and 1/2 tablespoon of red chilly flakes and stir for 30 seconds

now add 1 tablespoon of lemon juice to the milk and stir till it begins to curdle, it will take a few seconds for the curdling to begin, keep stirring it till you can see the whey separated from the milk solids.

turn the heat off and leave it to cool a bit. About 15 minutes.

place a wide strainer on a wide mouthed vessel and place a cheesecloth or any clean absorbent thin cotton material on the strainer. Pour the milk mixture into the cloth – strainer set up and leave it for 15 minutes.

Gather up the ends of the cloth and tie it up like a package and hang it somewhere with a vessel underneath to catch the drippings. I took my namesake’s idea and tied it to the pipe of the tap in the sink so the liquid would drain out into the sink. after 30 mins and most of the liquid has drained out, place it on a flat surface with a heavy weight on top. I used my stone mortar to do this, but a heavy vessel filled with water will also work well. Remove the paneer from the cloth, cut into chunks and eat as it is, with crackers or in a salad.

I couldn’t finish all of it at one go (since K hates paneer) and so a few days later, i lightly toasted the chunks on a nonstick pan with a few drops of oil and a crackle of pepper and a dash of salt… yumm!

Macaroni Salad – II

This is just one of those simple Pasta dishes that can be put together, when you need to feed yourself and/ or friends urgently, even at 2 a.m under the heavy influence of alcohol…. yeah its that easy. I made this one weekend afternoon when K and I were on a movie watching spree, and didn’t want to be interrupted for too long. And repeated this twice in less than 24 hrs on public demand!! This one was almost like the macaroni salad of Casa Picola that I talked of in this blog post. Minus the chicken of course.

To make this fantastic Macaroni Salad (can be served warm or cold)

1 cup cooked elbow macaroni

1 cup finely chopped steamed veggies of choice (i used carrots, peas, sweet corn kernels)

1 cup skinned and chopped cucumbers (seeds removed) and tomato

freshly crushed pepper and salt to taste

1 Tbsp tomato sauce

1 teaspoon Chinese sweet red chilli sauce

4-5 drops Tabasco sauce

2 tbsp mayonnaise (i used eggless mayo)

2 tbsp finely chopped fresh coriander and basil leaves

Method: heat 3 cups of water in a pan with 1/2 tsp oil and salt to taste. when it comes to a rolling boil, add the elbow macaroni and cook till cooked (about 4-5 mins) stirring frequently. Drain, run under cold water to stop the cooking process and set aside.

while the macaroni is cooking, steam the finely chopped vegetables in the microwave for 2 minutes. If not using the microwave, add the vegetables to the boiling pasta 2 minutes before the pasta is done. Drain and set aside.

Add the remaining ingredients into a medium bowl, mix well, add the cooked macaroni and vegetables, mix well. Season with freshly crushed pepper and salt. Serve warm or at cold.